Improvement in mole-plows



s. A. CLEMENS.

Mole-Plow.

No. 39,118. Patented July 7, 1863.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STILLMAN A. CLEMENS, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MOLE-PLOWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,118, dated July 7, 1863; antedatcd December 27, 1862.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STILLMAN A. CLEMENS, of Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have invented a new and usefnl Improvement on Mole-Flows; and I do hereby declare that thefollowin g is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, makingpart of this specification, of which- Figure l is a plan, Fig. 2 an elevation in longitudinal section, and Fig. 3 an end elevation, of the rear part of my invention. Also, Fig. 4 is a plan of the mole. I

The same same letters refer to like parts in 'all the figures.

My invention consists in securing a mole for making under-drains to the lower end of the forward edge of the cutter-bar or colter,which supports it by means of a pivot attachment near said edge and near the forward end of the mole, by which means the bottom of the mole is self-adjustable to-the line of the grade of the under-drain during the processes of its formation, and is not affected by the variations of the cutter-bar from a vertical line, as the rear end of the beam which supports it is raised or' lowered and I also attach the cutter-bar which supports the mole to the beam by free link-andbolt connection 01' their equivalents near the forward edge of the cutter-barin suchmode or modes as allows both apendulous lateral movement and position of the lower part of the cutter-bar in respect to the vertical plane of the beam, and allows the plane of the cutter-bar also to deflect from the line of direction of the advancing beam, by which means the cutterbar is relieved from lateral strain when the beam tends to deflect from its vertical plane from inequalities of the surface of the ground; and especially important is the free attachment of the cutter-bar to the beam in allowing the mole to be successfully used in reopening.

old mole-drains which may have become obstructed. I have also improved the shape of the mole, making it of such form in its largest transverse section as will produce an ellipsoidal or ovoid-shaped under-drain, making the upper side of the forward part but slightly rounded or convex, and gradually more rounding the upperside as it recedes back on an ascending curve to the full size of largest section, inserting the cutter-bar into the forward part of the mole, its rear edge considerably forward of the largest section of the mole and the lower side of the mole is made considerably longer than the upper side by inclining the rear end of the mole downward and backward from the top side at the largest transverse section of the mole.

In the accompanying drawings, a is a mole substantially as described above. b is a cutter-bar, the lower end of which is inserted into a free mortise, c, in the mole. The latter is attached to the cutter-bar by a pivot-pin, d, which passes horizontally through the mole and the forward part of the lower end of the cutter-bar. On the pivot-pin d the rear end of the mole is free to rise or fall independentuot' the position of the cutter-bar, the extent of the movement being limited by a pin, e, which. passes horizonlally and transversely through the mole and through a slotted opening, f, near the rear part of the lower end of the cutter-bar.

g is the beveled edge of the cutter-bar.

h is the rear part of a mole-plow beam,which may be arranged for support on the ground and for being raised or lowered in any of the usual modes of practice. The cutter-bar is supported from the beam bya pin, i, which passes transversely through the beam near the upper side of the latter, and also through a pin-hole, j, near the front edge of the cutter-bar. This pinhole is rounded on the face to a larger diameter at both its ends, by which the cutter-bar is free to move laterally at its rear edge, as on a vertical pivot, to accommodate which motion, and also to allow a pendulous vibration of the lower end of the cutter-bar as it hangs on the pin 43, the central recess, 70, at the rear end of the beam is cut out and shaped to confine the cutter bar centrally with the beam on the pin, and yet allow the described movements of the rear edge and lower part of the cutter-bar within a desirable limit.

I is a link-rod attached at the forward end to the under side of the beam by a staple, m, and at its rear end passing through a hole in the cutter-bar nearits forward edge. Through l forward traction from the beam is given to the cutter-bar and attached 'mole,and the rear end of the link-rod is free to move laterallyand allow the described motionsof the cutter-bar.

a is a lever attached to the upper end of the cutter-bar and extending either forward or backward of the latter at choice, and it both serves to indicate the direction which the mole is taking with respect to the line of draft in reopening mole-drains with the machine, and in making first drains manual force applied laterally to its end back and forth, and acting upon the cutter-bar, facilitates the passage of the latter and the mole through the ground.

The attachment of the cutter-bar to the mole by the pivot-pin d should be as far forward and as low as the shape and'material of the mole will allow, and the lower side of the mole, be tween the point and heel, should be made a little hollowing or bent upward, while still preserving the outline of the lower part of the transverse seetion,which is the same curve for the entire length. This, with the extension backward of the heel of the mole and the flattened shape of the upper side of the point, causes the mole to tend to run deeper into the ground, and thus keep the cutter-bar in a vertical position. When the mole is running too deep, raising the rear end of the beam,with the attached cutter-bar, through the pivot-pin (I, also raises the forward end of the mole. The described shape of mole compacts the earth also on the arch of the drain, and the section of its largest transverse area being several inches back of the cutter-bar, the fissure made in the earth by its passage is effectually closed over the drain.

I have successfully used the mole described when pivoted, as described, to a cutter-bar rigidly attached to the beam above in making mole-drains but the pendulous attachment of the cutter-bar to the beam above described avoids a strain of torsion in the parts when the wheels or sleds which support the beam pass over obstructions on one side or the other. Of especial importancein reopening obstructed mole-drains, the mole being free to follow the old drain, theposition of the upper part of the cutter-bar indicates any deviation of the line of draft from the direction of the drain and also their correspondence.

What I claim is- 1. The mole a, attached near its forward end by a pivot-pin near to the front edge of the lower end of a cutter-bar, 12, substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

2. A cutter-bar, I), attached to a mole-plow STILLMAN A. CLEMENS.

Witnesses:

T. B. BROWN, J. F. WM. ZSGHORK. 

